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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25953397">Over Time</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Strawberry_Requiem/pseuds/Strawberry_Requiem'>Strawberry_Requiem</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Gen, Immortal My Unit | Byleth, Minor Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd/My Unit | Byleth, Modern Era</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-08-17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-08-17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 07:55:58</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>883</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25953397</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Strawberry_Requiem/pseuds/Strawberry_Requiem</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Byleth's sadness about outliving her husband and children turns into her becoming a benefactor for hers and Dimitri's descendants. She meets all the children in an effort to provide her some solace in those moments where she misses her family.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>43</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Over Time</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Byleth checks the time on her phone and looks over to the door once more. They agreed to meet shortly, she remembers and tries not to worry herself over a few minutes delay. She drinks her latte and checks her phone again. This time it's a text from Flayn. She responds with an incomprehensible string of emojis that she's not entirely certain mean what she thinks it does. But Flayn never says otherwise if it does, so she sees no reason to stop. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The bell over the cafe door jingles and in walks a woman ushering a young boy of about ten in. The woman, she recognizes, but it's been about twenty years since she's seen her. Maybe more. And the last time they spoke, she was a ten-year-old herself. The boy, she doesn't know, though he looks so strikingly similar to what she imagined Dimitri must have looked like as a child that she needs to do a double-take. The woman surveys the cafe a moment, and when she settles on Byleth, she smiles and directs the boy towards the table she's sitting at.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Sorry for the delay," she says, shedding her scarf and hanging her jacket over the back of her chair. Her son doesn't follow suit.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I want a cheese danish, Mom." He says, pointing wildly at the case of pastries by the cash register. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"In a moment, darling."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Amelia doesn't know what to make of Byleth. She looks exactly the same as she remembers from when she was a kid. Same hair, same eyes. Same flawless skin. She tells herself it must be a trick of the memory and a good skincare routine. Amelia makes a mental note to ask about that later. Since she turned thirty, she's become concerned with her skincare, though she knows deep down it's more out of societal pressure than an actual need to age gracefully.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A waiter comes by and takes Amelia's order. A coffee, black with two sugars, a pumpkin muffin, and a hot chocolate and a cheese danish for the boy. Byleth is unsurprised to learn his name is Dimitri. There have been many Dimitris in their line. Many of their descendants chose to name their children after the King of legend whom they came from. This Dimitri is no different, but Byleth can't help the smile tugging at her mouth while he takes out his own phone and begins playing Pokemon Go. He likes arcanine the best and shows Byleth his. Byleth shows him the Magikarp she caught the other day and he nods, impressed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Five minutes of small talk pass by. Amelia tells Byleth about her promotion at work. How her daughter Elise is just starting Kindergarten. She's so smart. Knows all her letters and can count all the way to twenty. When she's old enough, she'll come to meet Byleth as well, but that goes without saying. This has been a fact that always was.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The waiter comes by with Amelia's order, and young Dimitri politely waits for his mother to give him his food, but he can't resist tearing into the whipped cream on his hot chocolate the second it's set down in front of him. He accidentally bends the spoon in the excitement and Amelia pales.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Byleth suspects he's showing signs of the Blaiddyd Crest and Amelia doesn't know how to explain it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Byleth understands, however, and draws no attention to the spoon except passing her unused one over. It reminds her of her son, of broken cribs, shattered toys, the need to replace the cutlery every year or so between him and his father. A pang of hurt shoots through her, though it passes. The hurt is not as pronounced as it was back then, back when outliving him was still fresh and new, but it still came. She forces a sad smile and watches as Amelia squirrels away the bent spoon.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She talks to young Dimitri, about the school, his favorite classes in school, what he does for fun. He is not alarmed by the questioning and chats amiably about his history teacher, how well he does in sports and how his parents are thinking of signing him up for junior lacrosse when the season rolls around (Byleth makes a mental note to find lacrosse sticks with metal rods to withstand his Crest for his upcoming birthday). </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Dimitri never questions Byleth. Never asks how he should know her. She reasons that Amelia must have told him about her, told him about the benefactor whom all Blaiddyd children meet and who sends gifts and letters on occasion. She thinks many assume she must be as real as the boogeyman. None of them question it, however. They never make a scene about how she's real. Nor do they ever mention how she looks exactly the same when they bring their children to meet her. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Maybe they're just polite. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The visit comes to an end and Byleth meets Amelia with an awkward hug. Young Dimitri is back to playing Pokemon on his phone, but he waves happily while his mother leads him out of the cafe. Byleth watches them head to their car and the hurt from earlier resurfaces. She wishes Dimitri, </span>
  <em>
    <span>her</span>
  </em>
  <span> Dimitri, could have been there to see them. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>But, like always, the hurt passes. </span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Thank you for reading!</p><p>As always, <a href="https://www.twitter.com/queenofthisdick">you can find me on Twitter.</a></p></blockquote></div></div>
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